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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Accurate studies of Breast/ Bottle pros and cons

110 replies

dyzzidi · 26/05/2005 08:32

HI. I really don't want a huge debate as I feel that has been done already. I am hoping some of you can post links to clinical studies of the pro's and cons. I have not made my mind up what I am going to do but would like to read some clinical research before I decide and would like to read a few different studies.

I believe it is such a personal choice that most peoples views will be slightly biased.

Sorry i do not intend to offend any of you.

OP posts:
milward · 27/05/2005 10:34

www.promom.org/101/

Gobbledigook · 27/05/2005 10:39

Blimey foolysh - that takes me back to univ. stats! Bleurgh!

oops · 27/05/2005 10:40

Message withdrawn

Gobbledigook · 27/05/2005 10:40

Oh my God - not that ridiculous list again! Less staining of clothes - jeez.

tiktok · 27/05/2005 10:52

foolysh - I haven't a clue who you are, don't recognise your user name, have no recollection of ever noticing, let alone 'never liking' anything you say.

Can't comment at all on your demand for half a million kids with crooked teeth

But I like it

Pruni · 27/05/2005 11:35

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tiktok · 27/05/2005 11:57

Pruni, most studies do not take into account whether the baby is fully or partially bf. The UK infant feeding study, which counts the breastfeeding, uses 'receiving any breastmilk' as a definition of 'breastfed'. This muddies the waters as some benefits of breastfeeding appear to depend on being exclusively breastfed (but so few babies are exclusively breastfed anywhere that it can be difficult to get a good sample).

I don't recognise the study you are citing - have you remembered it right? The one I remember was the one that was appeared to show that babies breastfed for longer than so many months showed some feature in their arteries as adults that was a risk of heart disease....and it was misreported as showing that you shouldn't breastfeed for longer than a certain time.

Pruni · 27/05/2005 12:13

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Pruni · 27/05/2005 12:14

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tiktok · 27/05/2005 12:30

It only muddies the waters because when it is said 'breastfeeding doesn't protect against allergies' all we may be saying is that 'babies who receieved both breastmilk and formula are not protected against allergies.' It also makes it less clear in other studies how much breastmilk these breastfed babies are getting...and there are several studies which show a 'dose dependent' response ie the more bf the better.

I still don't recall the study, but newspapers are always guilty of misreporting medical studies....I've just seen a headline on the web which is from a NZ newspaper which says 'breastfeeding makes babies weaker' which does not match up with the actual study at all!

Pruni · 27/05/2005 15:39

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Eulalia · 27/05/2005 16:08

Not had time to read the posts but from skimming through it seems that you do want to try breastfeeding. I always think if you are unsure then it is best to try rather than to make a decision not to which can't be reversed. Also can I point out that a lot of the ease of breastfeeding depends largely, if not almost wholly upon the baby. I appreciate you will be unwell after an operation but if you have a big strong healthy baby who can suck well then all you really need to do is lie there and let him/her get on with it! My 2nd child was like this and I found the winding/changing/settling to sleep etc much more hard work (which your dh can do and presumably the nursing staff) Feeding was v easy and her feeds were v short - 10 minutes often.

Don't know what stage of pregancy you are at but just to ask if you are expecting to have a normal sized baby? If so then give it a go. Otherwise if baby has problems then yes you can express right from the beginning.

This link gives info about medical/maternal illness etc.

You Can Still Breastfeed

Rarrie · 27/05/2005 18:54

Hope these sources help. Also try the WHO for more links.

Accession Number
00008480-200306000-00017.

Author
Fulhan, Jill MPH, RD, LDN, IBCLC; Collier, Sharon MEd, RD, LDN; Duggan, Christopher MD, MPH

Institution
Clinical Nutrition Service, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital, Boston; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Title
Update on pediatric nutrition: Breastfeeding, infant nutrition, and growth.[Miscellaneous]

Source
Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 15(3):323-332, June 2003.

Abstract
Recent studies continue to point out the critical nature of a patient's nutritional status in helping to determine important health outcomes in pediatrics. We review recent data concerning the composition of breast milk and its adequacy to support infant growth in the first six months of life, as well as trials that support breastfeeding as an important method to delay or reduce the incidence of atopic diseases such as eczema, allergies, and asthma. Studies have also been published that show how physician education and training about breastfeeding can be optimized. Studies showing how nutritional status is measured (using standard anthropometric techniques as well as more modern measures of basal metabolic rate) are highlighted, as well as the role of micronutrient supplementation of patients with the human immunodeficiency virus infection and diarrheal diseases.

(C) 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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Accession Number
00022363-200303000-00008.

Author
Bachrach, Virginia R. Galton MD, MPH; Schwarz, Eleanor MD, MS; Bachrach, Lela Rose MD, MS

Institution
From the Division of General Internal Medicine (Dr Schwarz) and the Department of Pediatrics (Dr L. R. Bachrach), University of California, San Francisco.

Title
Breastfeeding and the Risk of Hospitalization for Respiratory Disease in Infancy: A Meta-analysis.[Article]

Source
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 157(3):237-243, March 2003.

Abstract
Objective: To examine breastfeeding and the risk of hospitalization for lower respiratory tract disease in healthy full-term infants with access to modern medical care.

Data Sources: MEDLINE, personal communication with researchers, the OVID databases, Dissertation Abstracts Online, and BIOSIS.

Study Selection: The titles, abstracts, and text of studies from developed countries were explored for breastfeeding exposure measures and lower respiratory tract disease hospitalization rates. For summary statistics, we required 3 inclusion criteria: (1) a feeding contrast of a minimum of 2 months of exclusive breastfeeding (no formula supplementation) vs no breastfeeding and (2) study populations that excluded sick, low birth weight or premature infants and (3) reflected affluent regions; 27% of studies met these criteria.

Data Extraction: We abstracted data from all relevant reports.

Data Synthesis: Data from all primary material (33 studies) indicated a protective association between breastfeeding and the risk of respiratory disease hospitalization. Nine studies met all inclusion criteria, and 7 cohort studies were pooled. The feeding contrasts in these 7 studies were 4 or more months of exclusive breastfeeding vs no breastfeeding. The summary relative risk (95% confidence interval) was 0.28 (0.14-0.54), using a random-effects model. This effect remained stable and statistically significant after adjusting for the effects of smoking or socioeconomic status.

Conclusion: Among generally healthy infants in developed nations, more than a tripling in severe respiratory tract illnesses resulting in hospitalizations was noted for infants who were not breastfed compared with those who were exclusively breastfed for 4 months.

Copyright 2003 by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use. American Medical Association, 515 N. State St, Chicago, IL 60610.

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Accession Number
00000740-200401000-00013.

Author
Horne, R S C; Parslow, P M; Ferens, D; Watts, A-M; Adamson, T M

Institution
Department of Paediatrics and Ritchie Centre for Baby Health Research, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

Title
Comparison of evoked arousability in breast and formula fed infants.[Miscellaneous Article]

Source
Archives of Disease in Childhood. 89(1):22-25, January 2004.

Abstract
Background: Currently, there is no consistent evidence that breast feeding reduces the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Arousal from sleep is believed to be an important survival mechanism that may be impaired in victims of SIDS. Previously it has been shown that arousability is impaired by the major risk factors for SIDS such as prone sleeping and maternal smoking.

Aims: To establish whether arousability was altered by method of feeding, and whether breast fed infants would have lower arousal thresholds.

Methods: Forty three healthy term infants were studied using daytime polysomnography on three occasions: 2-4 weeks post-term, 2-3 months post-term, and 5-6 months post-term. Multiple measurements of arousal threshold (cm H2O) in response to nasal air jet stimulation applied alternately to the nares were made in both active sleep (AS) and quiet sleep (QS) while infants slept supine. Arousal thresholds and sleep period lengths were compared between formula fed and breast fed infants at each age.

Results: Arousal thresholds were not different between breast fed and formula fed infants in QS. However, in AS breast fed infants were significantly more arousable than formula fed infants at 2-3 months of age. There was no difference between groups of infants when sleep period length was compared at any study.

Conclusions: Breast fed infants are more easily aroused from AS at 2-3 months of age than formula fed infants. This age coincides with the peak incidence of SIDS.

(C) 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Sorry didn't have time for a full search - but on OVID at least, there are no negative reports of bfeeding - only positive health ones.

Hope this is the sort of thing you want!

louloubelle · 29/05/2005 11:52

Regarding the question of having the baby with you in a HDU, mine came with me straight after surgery...she met me there! For me, because the midwife was monitoring me very closely there was no problem. However, as my surgery was directly connected to the birth, it was a midwife with me, rather than a nurse from the HDU. Also the ubit was very quiet at the time.

serah · 11/06/2005 22:38

Good luck to you dyzzidi. Whatever you decide, or whatever just happens will work out fine.

(I'll cut it short here, as anything else just seems to turn into ranting or comes out just plain wrong. Bugger.)

kama · 11/06/2005 23:18

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milward · 11/06/2005 23:26

Kama - no offense intended here but just have to say I disagree when you write in capitals "bf will be hard" - not the case for all mums at all.
Dyzzidi - have you checked out the promom.org site on 101 reasons to breastfeed your baby? Gives loads of benefits & includes all the refs.

kama · 12/06/2005 13:05

This reply has been deleted

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mogwai · 12/06/2005 19:32

here's what would be really useful...a thread for "reasons why I chose to breastfeed" and another one for "reasons why I chose to bottle feed". Neither thread is allowed to slag off the other choice.

Mums to be could read both pros and cons and the posters could feel they were allowed to say what their reasons were without it turning into a controversy because the mums who preferred the other method would leave the thread alone.

What do you all think?

Pruni · 12/06/2005 19:35

Message withdrawn

mogwai · 12/06/2005 19:43

I know, it's laughable.....what's this site if we can't use it to slag each other off

I still think it's worth a go

mogwai · 12/06/2005 19:44

you always make me laugh, Pruni, btw

zebraZ · 12/06/2005 19:47

There were some threads like that, Mogwai, some people from each side couldn't help poking into the other thread (the one that said things they didn't like)

mogwai · 12/06/2005 19:57

that's a real shame. I really hate how the whole issue blows up. You can't really get a reasonable response to a reasonable question without someone beating their drum at you trying to persuade you one way or the other.

Why do people feel the need to persuade an undecided person to their own viewpoint? Surely they should just say how it was for them leave them to make up their mind.

I know that often happens on mumsnet, but someone always pokes in to spoil it. I wonder what these people are like in real life

JulieF · 12/06/2005 22:29

I think the reason why those threads don't work like that (and I speak as someone who chose to bottlefeed one baby and breastfeed another) is because some peoples reasons for doing a particular thing are based on mis-information (eg. you can't breastfeed and go back to work - you can- or breastfed babies don't get colic - they can) and people who had the right info felt thry should point these things out.